This Prospect Catches On Quickly

The Minnesota Twins thought enough of Derek Parks’ potential as a catcher that, even though he had played just six games at the position in high school, they made him the 10th amateur drafted in 1986.

That summer, in his first pro season, Appalachian League managers named Parks the league’s top major-league prospect.

In 1987, the publication “Baseball America” chose him as the Midwest League’s top prospect and the best catching candidate in baseball’s entire minor-league system.

Last season, Southern League managers picked Parks as the league’s best non-pitching prospect, best defensive catcher and catcher with the best arm.

And at the most recent winter meetings, Twins general manager Andy MacPhail repeatedly rejected any deals in which Parks’ name was mentioned, including one that could have brought Dave Winfield from the New York Yankees.

Everyone seems to think Derek Parks is something special -- except for Derek Parks.

“I don’t think about that stuff. And I don’t care,” says Parks, who is taking part in his first major-league spring training camp. “If you think about things like that, you’ll just start putting pressure on yourself to live up to everybody else’s expectations.”

Parks says he has “a ton of work to do” before he can even think about catching in the majors.

“I have to work on the fundamentals, the mechanics, calling the pitches,” he says. “I have to work on the proper way to receive the ball, getting comfortable in a stance. There’s a million things.”

A million things are a lot for a 20-year-old to have on his mind.

“He’s a young catcher with a lot of tools and an above average arm who also swings the bat well,” Twins bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek says. “The important thing for him is to not try to be Superman.”

Perhaps Parks isn’t the Man of Steel, but he’s not exactly a 98-pound weakling, either.

“He’s put together well,” Stelmaszek says of the 6-foot, 205-pounder. “He’s a solid, strong kid. You’d never guess that he’s only 20.”

But he is. And his catching career is much younger than that.

“In high school, I pitched and played third base until right near the end of my senior year,” Parks says. “I don’t know what the Twins saw in me as a catcher. I still don’t exactly know.”

What they saw was a tremendous athlete with tremendous potential.

As a senior at Montclair (Calif.) High School, he batted .440 with six homers and 23 RBI in 24 games. In addition, Parks went 11-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 79 2-3 innings as a right-handed pitcher.

During his three minor-league seasons, his offense slipped a bit as he concentrated on catching.

In rookie ball in 1986, he batted .237 with 10 homers and 40 RBI in 62 games. The next year, at Class A Kenosha, Wis., he hit .247 with 24 homers and 94 RBI but struck out 111 times. And last season, at Class AA Orlando, he had a .235 average with seven homers and 42 RBI.

“I’m not concerned with my offense, really,” Parks says. “It’s got to be defense first and then hitting.

“The only offensive thing I want to work on this year is not trying to muscle everything out of the park. I hit 24 homers in A ball and thought I was some big power hitter. That hurt me last year.”

On defense, “I’m changing all the time,” he says. “Changing my stance. Changing the way I catch left-handers. Changing the way I receive the ball. I’ve got to get comfortable back there.”

For their part, the Twins are quite comfortable with their No. 1 non-pitching prospect.

“Suffice it to say that we’re very, very careful when it comes to Derek Parks,” MacPhail says. “I can’t tell you how many trades we’ve turned down involving him or some of our other high-profile minor-leaguers. It would be very difficult for another team to wrest Derek Parks from us.”

That’s fine with Stelmaszek, who is looking forward to a chance to work with Parks at the major-league level.

“Considering how little he’s caught, he’s been impressive,” the coach says. “There’s no question he’s got a great future.”